Carlin de Paolo Barolo DOCG Casalcomignoli – sustainable with no pesticides or herbicides used
Back in the day, and that day was 20 years ago, Barolos were priced in the $25 range, with some premium bottlings going into the $60s. Today, with the exception of some end-of-vintage specials, the least expensive Barolo we’ve sold in the past ten years goes for $39.99, with most of our offerings in the $70-100 range – and up.
Carlin de Paolo is a family-run, fourth-generation winery. The company name comes from founder Paolo and his son, Carlo, nicknamed Carlin in Piemontese.
Nowadays Giancarlo and Davide, the founder’s great-grandchildren, carry on this tradition together with their parents Franco and Giusy, and their youngest brothers Lorenzo and Paolo, making use of the most modern technologies, while fully respecting tradition and quality.
93 points, James Suckling: “There’s a dark, savory edge to the ripe cherries and berries on the nose and palate with hints of black licorice, dried mushrooms, and powdered violets. Full to medium palate with firm, fruit-coated tannins and plenty of acidity in reserve, producing a tangy, spicy oak finish and a bright, citrus-peel aftertaste. Delicious and intriguing now, but it needs to even out somewhat. Lot of oak influence here.”
Carlin de Paolo Barolo DOCG comes from 30-40 year old Nebbiolo vines planted in a limey, sandy, clay surface over calcareous soil in Castiglione Faletto. After harvest, the wine spends a 10-day maceration period in steel tanks before being transferred to French oak barrels for a minimum 3-year maturation. After bottling, the wine is then laid down for at least 2 years in the bottle before it is released to the public.
Ruby-red center with garnet reflections around the edges. The aromatics lead off with dark cherries, red and black berries, anise, red rose petal, and orange peel. The palate is broad and assertive, with finely detailed tannins that loosen and polish with air. Savory and muscular in structure but with an elegance to the aromatics and complexity, there is so much to love about a Barolo at this price. Drink 2024–2035.
The center of the production of the world’s most exclusive and age-worthy red wines made from Nebbiolo, the Barolo wine region includes five core townships: La Morra, Monforte d’Alba, Serralunga d’Alba, Castiglione Falletto and the Barolo village itself, as well as a few outlying villages. The landscape of Barolo, characterized by prominent and castle-topped hills, is full of history and romance centered on the Nebbiolo grape. Its wines, with the signature “tar and roses” aromas, have a deceptively light garnet color but a full presence on the palate and plenty of tannins and acidity.
In a well-made Barolo wine, one can expect to find complexity and good evolution with notes of, for example, strawberry, cherry, plum, leather, truffle, anise, fresh and dried herbs, tobacco and violets. There are two predominant soil types here, which distinguish Barolo from the lesser surrounding areas. Compact and fertile Tortonian sandy marls define the vineyards farthest west and at higher elevations. Typically the Barolo wines coming from this side, from La Morra and Barolo, can be approachable relatively early on in their evolution and represent the “feminine” side of Barolo, often closer in style to Barbaresco with elegant perfume and fresh fruit. On the eastern side of the Barolo wine region, Helvetian soils of compressed sandstone and chalks are less fertile, producing wines with intense body, power and structured tannins. This more “masculine” style comes from Monforte d’Alba and Serralunga d’Alba. The township of Castiglione Falletto covers a spine with both soil types.